Paul George: 'It's on me' to get Pacers to challenge Cavs
The Indiana Pacers were right there. They'd come up short in the Eastern Conference finals two years in a row when Paul George suffered a horrific leg injury in a Team USA scrimmage.
They missed the subsequent playoffs after the star forward missed most of 2014-15. This past postseason, he nearly carried a mediocre squad out of the first round, taking the Toronto Raptors to seven games.
Since then, the Pacers have been active, acquiring Jeff Teague, Al Jefferson, and Thaddeus Young. George is pleased with the talent the front office has surrounded him with, and believes it's up to him to lead the team back to the upper echelon of the East.
"I think with the moves that they made, it's on me now, to get us back to being contenders," he told Michael Lee of The Vertical. "I think, with what I'm going to bring, the talent I have around me now, I've got a chance to challenge Cleveland."
Cleveland, of course, just won the championship - thanks in large part to Kyrie Irving. The point guard had witnessed George's injury firsthand in 2014, and admires his USA Basketball teammate's resolve and ability to both get back on the court and play at a high level.
"You can tell (George) carries an aura about him now. That I don't know if he had it before," Irving said. "Sometimes, adversity can do that to you. And it has a way of shaping a person's life like no other.
"None of us were there when he was going through rehab. None of us were here when he was in his bedroom alone, thinking about life, how he was going to get back. None of us were there when he was trying to figure out, what is the next step? That right there builds character. I can feel it. I can see it."
If George has it his way, he'll square off against Irving's Cavaliers for Eastern Conference supremacy next June. For now, though, the 26-year-old's set to try to fulfill his childhood dream of winning an Olympic gold medal.
"I've been waiting a long time for this opportunity," George added. "I'm going all out."